Consolidating your private student loans

Stafford and Perkins loans are federal loans given directly to the student.

This type of loan, which is funded with government money, comes with low interest rates and favorable repayment options. They can be consolidated upon graduation, which is an important factor when it comes time for repayment.

The interest rates usually are higher than those on federal loans and there are some involved that aren’t part of federal loans.PLUS loans, originally called Parent Loans for Undergraduate Students, were created so parents could help fund their children’s educations.Now, parents may take out Parent PLUS loans and graduate students may use Grad PLUS loans.Those four loan programs account for 80% of the federal loans made for college students.For many people, a college education is impossible to obtain without borrowing money to pay for it.